Boating!

Dress (worn as a skirt) - Monteau // Shirt - KDS Spring (Thrifted) // Belt - Vintage // Shoes - Hot Cakes

So last Friday we wanted to do something just for fun. We started out with a bunch of random ideas and ended up driving to Pymatuning Lake to feed the fish and then rent a pontoon boat. Honestly, I thought feeding the fish was going to be boring, but it actually was very entertaining. The fish are so gross looking 'cause they're so big and there are just so many of them! When you throw a piece of bread in the water the fish would all swim for it at the same time and there would just be this huge mass of fish! The birds could even walk on the fishes' backs!

After that we drove a little further into PA and rented a pontoon boat. So fun! I thought it was fun just riding in it, but then I asked for a turn driving. I've only been in a boat a few times ...and obviously I've never driven one before. It was easier than I expected and I really enjoyed it! So I ended up driving most of the time we were out on the lake. If you're looking for something fun and relatively inexpensive, renting a pontoon boat is a great way to spend the afternoon!

June Outfits

Well, here are my June Outfits!  I actually like most of these this month. But, there are a few that I don't like as much. Which ones do you like or dislike? Any favorites?

Festivities on the 4th!

Outfit 1 - Dress - Adrianna Papell (Thrifted) // Scarf - Thrifted // Shoes - Hot Cakes

Outfit 2 - Dress - LOFT (Thrifted) // Scarf - Thrifted // Shoes - Payless // Sunglasses - Charlotte Russe

Well, here are the rest of the pictures from the fourth! I hope y'all had a wonderful Independence Day. I'm so thankful for the freedom we have in this country!

In the morning we went to the annual parade in Thompson. Don't you just love us all in red, white, and blue? It's kind of awesome when you get 10 people in the same family to do it. Oh and I loved all the classic cars in the parade! I tried to get pictures of some of them :) Anyways, there's a thrift store in the same square as the parade so we checked that out before heading home. I got two pairs of vintage shoes for $3. No joke. I have super wide feet so I can never find vintage shoes that fit me (or shoes that cheap!). It makes me sad when I find awesome vintage shoes, but I can't buy them. But not today!!

The 4th is also my mom's birthday so when we got home from the parade we surprised her by dressing up like this. I thought of doing this because she loves the show White Collar and they had these really inexpensive FBI playsets at Dollar Tree. I wish I'd taken a picture when everyone was still dressed up. It was so hot that a few people changed before we could get the picture. It was fun to do though and my mom enjoyed it :) ...then we changed back into our red, white, and blue outfits and had some amazing turtle cheesecake that I made for her!

Later in the evening we went to Ohio Chautauqua to see a reenactment monologue of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. It was really well done! Although I couldn't pay attention as much as I wanted to because I had to watch a couple of the kids and...well, they were bored :p I liked it though.

We went straight to Geneva-on-the-Lake to see some fireworks and even though we were more than an hour early we almost didn't get a parking spot! We just barely made it into one lot that had plenty of parking, but was super muddy. Right after we drove in, a couple cars got stuck and they closed the lot! The fireworks were great though and it was fun seeing them with my family. And yes, we sit on top of the car to watch fireworks 'cause we're awesome. We only live like 10ish minutes from Geneva-on-the-Lake, but in the post-firework traffic it took an entire hour! But, we did get to see another firework show from the car window while we were stuck in traffic :)

Hope your 4th was great :)

Happy 4th!

Dress - Adrianna Papell (Thrifted) // Scarf - Thrifted // Shoes - Hot Cakes // Purse - Etienne Aigner (Thrifted)

I am loving outfits with a 50s vibe right now! And I've been watching vintage hair tutorials on youtube lately. So yeah, I really enjoyed wearing this outfit today :) Anyways, it's well past the normal time I post and I'm just writing this...so yeah. I'm going to bed now (...actually I'll be getting up soon). I have a ton of pictures from the 4th, but I'll post them tomorrow 'cause I just need some sleep before another busy day tomorrow! Hope y'all had a wonderful 4th!

I Guess I Don't Hate Swimming After All?

Skirt - H&M // Shirt - Old Navy // Cardigan - Express // Shoes - Faded Glory

I actually do kind of hate swimming. Although I didn't mind today because I finally got an awesome red polka dotted retro swimsuit to wear (I needed a one piece for camp...and I hope to get pictures up eventually). And, as much as I dislike loud and busy pools, I LOVE places that have a lazy river! I love just being able to float and think. ....without people splashing me. Thankfully, my siblings know better than to splash me. There's a great lazy river in University of Akron's rec center--I really should go there more often! I just don't like swimming when there are a ton of people splashing around. I like water when it's calm and quiet. Although, it's nice to be able to just stop and think in general.

That's one reason I end up going to sleep so late at night (umm...early in the morning?) 'cause I seriously need time at the end of the day to wind down. I think most of you know that I have, well, a lot of siblings. Anyways, my mom and I are always busy around the house and by the time the kids are in bed I'm just ready to chill out and think. I enjoy designing and doing some creative writing before I go to sleep. But lately, I've been so inspired (which, ya know, shouldn't be a bad thing) that I end up staying up much later than I mean to. I wish there were more hours in the day...and that the kids went to bed several hours earlier! Then I could get all the housework done and all my writing/art done. Oh, and get some sleep. Right now I'm doing both, but sleep-wise I'm really suffering. Obviously, I need to find a better balance here. Or switch from decaf to "lots-of-caf."

Oh...and Happy 4th! Since right now it's not the 4th yet it almost slipped my mind. But, it will be the 4th when this is posted. So, yes. Happy Independence Day!

Guest Post by Mom...Sort Of

Dress - Vera Wang (Thrifted) // Cardigan - J. Crew (Thrifted) // Shoes - American Eagle (Thrifted) // Belt - Vintage

Dress - Thrifted and borrowed from my mom // Scarf - Thrifted // Shoes - Restricted Shoes
Photos of my by my mom

Sorry for so many pictures, but I was just so excited to take all these pictures of my mom! She and my dad went away for a few days and left me and Laura with the kids (so fun...). They were going out for dinner tonight and my mom wanted to dress up. So I found a nice dress of mine for her to wear (Vera Wang...um yeah, that's nice!) and then did her hair and makeup. I've never worn this dress before and sometimes I regretted thrifting it, but I really liked the colors. And I'm so glad I did end up getting it 'cause it looks wonderful on my mom. She usually doesn't wear much makeup, but I put eye shadow and liner on her today! She's always beautiful, but it was so fun to put the makeup on her and to see her looking so fantastic! Anyways...I'm glad I got all these pictures :) It was also fun to dress her--she's wearing all my clothes. And, her outfit's totally thrifted too!

Since she borrowed my clothes, I decided to throw on a dress of hers that I've had my eye on for awhile. It's much cuter on my mom than on me. It just makes me look like I have no waist. Trust me, it's there. But you just can't see it in this dress :p And...it didn't really look that great with a belt on :( Oh well, it was fun borrowing her clothes though!

And I know some of the poses in the photos have been really similar the past few posts. But, ya know, if it ain't broke... I was just so excited to finally have found some poses that I really liked. I'll eventually get more creative...at some point.

Anyways, I finally made this cake. I don't really bake that much, even though I enjoy it. But, when I saw this  cake on Delightfully Tacky I was just dying to make it! Mine looks...not amazing. 'Cause the frosting was like dripping off. But, it tasted amazing. I mean, seriously, a black tea and blackberry lime cake with lemon frosting? Amazing. I could have eaten the whole thing myself.

These are some ugly, but awesome boots I thrifted today. Clear rainboots? Yes! I really think they need different laces though. I can't wait for it to rain now though, so I can wear them with crazy socks!

Aaaand, lastly here's a picture I snapped of Laura on the trampoline.